Yay my first batch of habanero peppers!

[contoursvt]

http://powerthings.com/pics/habanero.jpg

At least I think they are habaneros. Cant tell the difference between scotch bonnets and habaneros. Anyway these are way hotter than store ones so I wont be able to eat them or use them before they go bad so anyone know how to dry peppers properly without a dehydrator? Online the most common is to string them up but I assume thats meant for hotter climates. I'm in Canada and its now fall so the sun is not so strong anymore.

I was going to try something ******** so please dont laugh. Ok you can laugh but not too hard. What if I was to cut the peppers into halves and then put them inside my server...yes I said server. Haha. The ambient temperature is about 10C hotter than anywhere else in the house and I"m thinking the constant airflow might help dry them out sooner. Would this work you think?

Other option is to place them on top of the rear portion of my 21" monitor. The heat pouring off the vents seems pretty warm.

If these ideas seem terrible, any other options? I dont wanna use the toaster oven or main oven because it seems like a waste of electricity for such a small batch of peppers.

[kt11]

My mom does something similar once in a while. She takes a dry frying pan, no oil, grease, etc. And just lets it "burn"....I warn you, you will get a hacking cough...don't do it if you have an apartment. But in the end, the peppers completely dry out and become very flaky. Then we either leave it as it is, or grind it up and make a spice.

[Kinki]

my parent grows various types of hot peppers and they just toss them into the freezer.

[Steeve Urkel]

I heard putting them in the toaster oven on low for a few hours works.

or else freeze them.

I used to make jam and the only way it kept was in the freezer as it was not heated. (was actually freezer jam)

[almostfreeman]

you can dry them in your oven @ 125-150 degrees with the oven door open slightly for several hours. Freezing them will work fine too.

[george benjamin]

I think you should cut them in half and put them inside your furnace.

Or you could try putting them on top of your car's engine.

[woobie]

I was going to try something ******** so please dont laugh. Ok you can laugh but not too hard. What if I was to cut the peppers into halves and then put them inside my server...yes I said server. Haha. The ambient temperature is about 10C hotter than anywhere else in the house and I"m thinking the constant airflow might help dry them out sooner. Would this work you think?


Do you live alone? the reason I ask is I used a dehydrator years ago when I had a huge batch of habenero and thai dragon chili's to dry out my peppers and then used a mini chopper to dice them into pepper flakes. The Fumes from the drying peppers made the kids eye's burn and I ended up dehydrated them in the garage lol.

[contoursvt]

Do you live alone? the reason I ask is I used a dehydrator years ago when I had a huge batch of habenero and thai dragon chili's to dry out my peppers and then used a mini chopper to dice them into pepper flakes. The Fumes from the drying peppers made the kids eye's burn and I ended up dehydrated them in the garage lol.

Thats a fantastic idea. The garage. I never thought of that. I didnt want to get a dehydrator because I didnt want the noise for many hours but ya I do live alone and I think I will get a dehydrator now and just stick it in the garage.

Thanks ! :)

[Steeve Urkel]

You should also get some rubber gloves.

The acids from the peppers can burn your skin pretty bad sometimes.
I used to have to cut up hot peppers for prep at a restaurant and I would wear gloves, but sometimes some of the pepper juice would get on my wrist or arm and I'd get very red skin from that.

[hot_potato]

Well, here's an alternative.. you could pickle the peppers in vinegar instead of drying them out. You'll have a spicy vinegar and the peppers will still be good. This actually works really well for Jalapeno peppers!

[stevethewheel]

They are not likely scotch bonnets, scotch bonnets don't have any 'length', they are almost tomato shaped, but about the same size.

Enjoy!

[hot_potato]

Yeah, forgot to mention.. they don't look like scotch bonnets (almost round in shape). Don't forget.. don't rub your eyes after cutting them!! :cheesygri

[burberry]

Wow, these peppers look so great! Nice and fresh!

[UrbanPoet]

i like making my own hot sauce... get em chopped fine in a food processor.
Then add sugar, vinegar, and finely chopped garlic. You can also add fresh chopped basil in it.
Its very tasty.

[Thanh]

Use an homemade dehydrator such as Homemade Food Dehydrator (http://www.alpharubicon.com/prepinfo/dehydratorstryder.htm). I've built one years ago and I've been happy about it ever since.